Thermodynamically Favorable Thermal Gradient-Generating Device

ABSTRACT

A thermal gradient device which utilizes a thermodynamically favorable physical process in order to spontaneously generate and maintain a temperature difference between two disjoint reservoirs of a volatile compound is disclosed. The device is powered by thermal energy either already within one of the reservoirs or which enters the reservoir from an external source.

This patent, created by Dr. Sanza T. Kazadi, a United States citizen, residing in Alhambra, Calif., concerns itself with a device which generates a thermal gradient between two chambers using a thermodynamically favorable, and therefore spontaneous, physical process. The process utilizes the differing vapor pressures of solutions resulting from mixtures of identical solvents and either differing concentrations of identical solutes or different solutes at concentrations which cause differing vapor pressures. It is well known that maintaining two different reservoirs of identical solvents at different vapor pressures produces a flow of vapor from the reservoir at higher pressure to the reservoir at lower pressure. The flow of vapor concomitantly generates a flow of thermal energy from the reservoir at higher vapor pressure to the reservoir with the lower vapor pressure. This flow serves to create and subsequently maintain a temperature difference between the two reservoirs. The temperature difference induced is sufficient to produce equal vapor pressures in the two chambers. The process maintains this temperature difference as long as vapor flow is possible.

The current apparatus is novel in that the generation of a temperature difference between chambers happens entirely without the need for any other external device or energy source. The thermal energy is transferred from one chamber to another, requiring no other mechanism, no mechanical component, and no energy outside of that already within the solvent in the chambers. Indeed, it is the energy within one of the solvent reservoirs that drives the process. Careful construction of single pairs of chambers or coupled sets of pairs of chambers may be utilized to magnify the temperature differential so as to achieve virtually any temperature difference desired. No other apparatus currently exists that generates a thermal gradient using a passive physical process, primarily because it is currently assumed that such a process is impossible.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the generation and maintenance of thermal gradients using molecular carriers of energy.

SUMMARY OF THE PRIOR ART Citations: Publications

-   M. Olsson, Gerald Wick, and J. Isaacs. Salinity Gradient Power:     Utilizing Vapor Pressure Differences. Science, New Series,     206(4417), 452-454, 1979.

Colligative properties are well known in the world of chemistry. These are properties of solutions that change in the presence of solutes. These properties include the boiling point, the freezing point, and the vapor pressure. All of these physical properties of solvents change when a solute is added to them. The change is proportional to the molality of the solute in the solution.

Though much of the well taught work on changing vapor pressure of solutions focuses on polar solvents and solutes, it is possible to induce a pressure change using non-polar solvents such as hexane and non-polar solutes such as napthalene. Because of the relatively universal effect, a variety of different solvents and solutes with widely varying properties may be used to create this effect.

The effect has been used to generate vapor pressure differences which were coupled with a small wind turbine operating at 27° C. (Olsson et. al., 1979). The “demonstration model” operated at an efficiency of 23%. The device was designed to allow thermal communication between the high salinity and low salinity chambers, insuring that the process continued indefinitely. The problem with this device was undoubtedly a quick corrosion of the copper surfaces of the device which might have inactivated the device after a relatively short period of time.

At present, there are no devices which use the same process to move energy using the vapor from one region of the device to another. Though it is clear that Olsson et. al. understood that a thermal transfer occurs, neither their device nor any other device currently in use allows the generation and preservation of a thermal gradient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a thermal gradient device which generates a thermal gradient between two spatially disparate chambers using a thermodynamically favorable process. Each chamber contains reservoirs of a volatile compound, typically a liquid. At least one reservoir of the compound contains a dissolved or adsorbed secondary compound. In the case that both reservoirs contain a secondary compound, the two secondary compounds need not be the same and are at different concentrations if they are the same compound. The vapor pressure of the second compound is assumed to be much smaller than that of the first compound, possibly zero. The inclusion of the secondary compound affects the vapor pressure of the first compound. The affect of the secondary compound in chamber one on the vapor pressure of the first compound in the first chamber is different from the affect of the secondary compound on the vapor pressure of the first compound in chamber two. As a result, each chamber has a different vapor pressure. The two chambers are connected by a conduit which allows the vapor of the first compound to freely travel between the first and second chambers. Thermal energy is moved between the two chambers using the vapor molecular energy carriers as they move from one chamber to the next. The molecular carriers' movement is driven by differences in vapor pressure between the two chambers. As the vapor is generated by the compound in chamber one (for instance), it carries thermal energy away from the first reservoir. As the vapor condenses in chamber two, it adds thermal energy to the second reservoir. The process continues until the vapor pressures of the two reservoirs has equalized.

The basic device is made up of two chambers. Energy deposited in one reservoir via any means once the system has reached equilibrium generates a vapor pressure increase in that reservoir, resulting in the flow of vapor from that reservoir to the other. As a result, the device can be coupled to a system of heat sinks which serves to draw heat from one region and deposit in another region, yielding a heating effect or a cooling effect.

Multiple units of the basic device can also be linked to one another so as to generate larger thermal gradients than one unit can generate. By thermally coupling the high temperature reservoir of one unit to the low temperature reservoir of another unit, the overall temperature difference between the low temperature reservoir of one unit and the high temperature reservoir of the second unit can be made greater than a single unit can generate individually.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such drawings:

FIG. 1 is a simplified version of the apparatus in which the two reservoirs are connected with a simple conduit that allows vapor to flow back and forth between the two reservoirs;

FIG. 2 is a version of the apparatus in which the two reservoirs are nested in such a way that the chamber containing reservoir 1 also contains the chamber containing reservoir 2. This version allows vapor to flow between the reservoirs through holes cut in the casing of the inner chamber containing reservoir 2.

FIG. 3 is a version of the apparatus in which two pairs of reservoirs are coupled in such a way that the high temperature reservoir of one pair is thermally coupled to the low temperature reservoir of the second pair.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 for purposes of illustration, the present invention is a thermal gradient device capable of generating and maintaining a temperature difference between two disjoint reservoirs using a thermodynamically favorable and therefore spontaneous physical process.

The first embodiment comprises three principle components:

-   (1) A first chamber (1) containing a reservoir of a volatile     compound (2) with a first surface area A₁ (3). -   (2) A second chamber (7) containing a reservoir of a volatile     compound (6) with a second surface area A₂ (5). -   (3) A conduit (4) through which said volatile compound may freely     flow between the first chamber and the second chamber.

The volatile compound reservoirs in chamber 1 (2) and in chamber 2 (6) contain one or more secondary compound(s) dissolved within them in such a way as to affect the vapor pressure of the reservoirs of the first compound. The secondary compounds may be at different concentrations in either chamber, or in some cases, two distinct secondary compounds may be used in the two reservoirs, also causing differing vapor pressures in the two chambers.

In another embodiment (FIG. 2) two chambers (8 and 12) are nested, and contained in a larger evacuated chamber (9). One reservoir of the volatile compound is stored in each of the outer chamber (10) and the inner chamber (11). Vapor flows between the two reservoirs through holes (19) cut in the inner chamber.

In a third embodiment (FIG. 3) two nested sets of chambers are thermally coupled using a thermally conductive device (16) that connects the high temperature reservoir (24) of the nested set of chambers on the bottom to the low temperature reservoir (17) of the nested set of chambers on the top. The pair of nested chambers are contained in a vacuum evacuated chamber (15) and individually function in the same way as the device illustrated in FIG. 2. 

1. A thermal gradient device comprising: a first part which has a cavity known as the low temperature reservoir containing a first volatile compound; a second part which has a cavity known as the high temperature reservoir containing said first volatile compound; a passageway connecting said low temperature reservoir to said high temperature reservoir so as to allow vapor of said first volatile compound to pass freely between said low temperature reservoir and said high temperature reservoir; a method of sealing said low temperature reservoir and said high temperature reservoir and said passageway so as to separate the contiguous interior of said low temperature reservoir and said high temperature reservoir and said passageway from the exterior of said low temperature reservoir and said high temperature reservoir and said passageway; wherein one or more second compounds or a mixture of such are dissolved, sorped, or otherwise uniformly dispersed within in said first volatile compound in said low temperature reservoir creating a first resulting substance; one or more third compounds or a mixture of such are dissolved, sorped, or otherwise uniformly dispersed within said first volatile compound in said high temperature reservoir creating a second resulting substance; wherein said first resulting substance in said low temperature reservoir has a vapor pressure higher than that of said second resulting substance in said high temperature reservoir when said first resulting substance in said low temperature reservoir is at the same temperature as said second resulting substance in said high temperature reservoir; and wherein the movement of said vapor from said first resulting substance in said low temperature reservoir to said second resulting substance in said high temperature reservoir induces a temperature differential between said low temperature reservoir and said high temperature reservoir.
 2. The thermal gradient device of claim 1 wherein said first volatile compound is liquid.
 3. The thermal gradient device of claim 1 wherein said first volatile compound is solid.
 4. The thermal gradient device of claim 1 wherein said first part, said second part, and said passageway are constructed of a thermally insulating material.
 5. The thermal gradient device of claim 1 wherein a third part contains said first part, said second part, and said passageway inside a third cavity within said third part.
 6. The thermal gradient device of claim 5 wherein a vacuum is maintained within the interior of said third cavity and exterior of said first part, said second part, and said passageway.
 7. The thermal gradient device of claim 1 wherein said first resulting substance in said low temperature reservoir is thermally coupled to the exterior of said thermal gradient device by some means.
 8. The thermal gradient device of claim 1 wherein said first resulting substance in said low temperature reservoir is thermally coupled to a separate enclosed cavity exterior to said thermal gradient device by some means.
 9. The thermal gradient device of claim 8 wherein said separate enclosed cavity is thermally insulated from the exterior.
 10. The thermal gradient device of claim 1 wherein said second resulting substance in said high temperature reservoir is thermally coupled to the exterior of said thermal gradient device by some means.
 11. The thermal gradient device of claim 1 wherein said second resulting substance in said high temperature reservoir is thermally coupled to a separate enclosed cavity exterior to said thermal gradient device by some means.
 12. The thermal gradient device of claim 11 wherein said separate enclosed cavity is thermally insulated from the exterior.
 13. A multiple unit thermal gradient battery comprising many thermal gradient devices as defined by claim 1; wherein each unit can be assigned a unique number ranging from 1 to the total number of thermal gradient devices (N); wherein the low temperature reservoir of the first thermal gradient device is known as the cold temperature reservoir and the high temperature reservoir of the N^(th) thermal gradient device is known as the hot temperature reservoir. and wherein the second resulting substance in the high temperature reservoir of each thermal gradient device (i) excepting the last thermal gradient device (N) is thermally coupled with the first resulting substance in the low temperature reservoir of the next thermal gradient device (i+1) by some means.
 14. The thermal gradient battery of claim 13 wherein said first volatile compounds in two or more thermal gradient devices are different compounds.
 15. The thermal gradient battery of claim 13 wherein said first volatile compound in one or more thermal gradient devices is liquid.
 16. The thermal gradient battery of claim 13 wherein said first volatile compound in one or more thermal gradient devices is solid.
 17. The thermal gradient battery of claim 13 wherein said thermal gradient devices are at least partially constructed from a thermally insulating material.
 18. The thermal gradient battery of claim 13 wherein a third part contains all thermal gradient devices within a cavity in said third part.
 19. The thermal gradient battery of claim 18 wherein a vacuum is maintained on the interior of said third cavity and exterior of said thermal gradient devices.
 20. The thermal gradient battery of claim 13 wherein said first resulting substance in said cold reservoir is thermally coupled to the exterior of said thermal gradient battery by some means.
 21. The thermal gradient battery of claim 13 wherein said first resulting substance in said cold reservoir is thermally coupled to the interior of a separate enclosed cavity exterior to said thermal gradient battery by some means.
 22. The thermal gradient battery of claim 21 wherein said separate enclosed cavity is thermally insulated from its exterior.
 23. The thermal gradient battery of claim 13 wherein said second resulting substance in said hot reservoir is thermally coupled to the exterior of said thermal gradient device by some means.
 24. The thermal gradient battery of claim 13 wherein said second resulting substance in said hot reservoir is thermally coupled to the interior of a separate enclosed cavity by some means.
 25. The thermal gradient battery of claim 24 wherein said separate enclosed cavity is thermally insulated from its exterior.
 26. A thermal gradient array comprising one or more thermal gradient batteries, as defined in claim 13; wherein each thermal gradient battery contains at least one thermal gradient device wherein either the first resulting substance in the low temperature reservoir or the second resulting substance in the high temperature reservoir is coupled by some means either to the first resulting substance in the low temperature reservoir or the second resulting substance in the high temperature reservoir of at least one thermal gradient device that is part of a second thermal gradient battery.
 27. The thermal gradient array of claim 26 wherein said first volatile compounds in two or more thermal gradient devices within one or more thermal gradient battery are different compounds.
 28. The thermal gradient array of claim 26 wherein said first volatile compound in one or more thermal gradient devices within one or more thermal gradient battery is liquid.
 29. The thermal gradient array of claim 26 wherein said first volatile compound in one or more thermal gradient devices within one or more thermal gradient battery is solid.
 30. The thermal gradient array of claim 26 wherein said thermal gradient batteries are at least partially constructed from a thermally insulating material.
 31. The thermal gradient array of claim 26 wherein a third part contains all thermal gradient batteries within a cavity in said third part.
 32. The thermal gradient array of claim 31 wherein a vacuum is maintained on the interior of said third cavity and exterior of said thermal gradient devices.
 33. The thermal gradient array of claim 26 wherein said first resulting substance in said cold reservoir of at least one thermal gradient battery is thermally coupled to the exterior of said thermal gradient array by some means.
 34. The thermal gradient array of claim 26 wherein said first resulting substance in said cold reservoir of at least one thermal gradient battery is thermally coupled to the interior of a separate enclosed cavity exterior to said thermal gradient array by some means.
 35. The thermal gradient array of claim 34 wherein said separate enclosed cavity is thermally insulated from its exterior.
 36. The thermal gradient array of claim 26 wherein said second resulting substance in said hot reservoir of at least one thermal gradient battery is thermally coupled to the exterior of said thermal gradient array by some means.
 37. The thermal gradient array of claim 26 wherein said second resulting substance in said hot reservoir of at least one thermal gradient battery is thermally coupled to the interior of a separate enclosed cavity by some means.
 38. The thermal gradient array of claim 37 wherein said separate enclosed cavity is thermally insulated from its exterior. 